Wire tightener and splicer



H. H. SCHAEFER. WIRE TlGHTENER AND SPLIVCER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. '19. 1921. Patented Dec. 20, 1921- 3 SHEETS-SHEEII :5 er ll H. H. SCHAEFER.

WIRE TIGHTENER AND SPLICER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-19,1921- 1,400,995. Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- H. H. SCHAEFER.

WIRE TIGHTENER AND SPLICER. APPLICATION FILED 5.19.1921.

1,400,995. at nted Dec.s20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

unites states PATENT orricn HENRY SGHJPLIEFER, 0E WELDONA, COLORADO.

-WIR E TIGHTENER AND SPLIGEB.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 20, 1921 Applicationfiled February 19, 192i Serial No. 446,374.

ing wires, and particularly to means where-- by the broken ends of awire, as for instance the broken ends of a fence wire may be drawntogether and spliced.

The general object is to provide a machine of this character which isvery simple in its construction, which may be cheaply made, and which isthoroughly effective forthe purpose intended.

A further and more specific object is to provide means whereby the wiresmay be kept under tension and not allowed to become slack while the loopisbeing formed and twisted.

Another object is to provide a construction of this character which isadapted for use in tightening strands of a barbedwire fence andconnecting or twisting said strands together. o

Other objects will appear 1n the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1. is a side elevation of my wire stretcher and splicer;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. is a longitudinal sectional view of the stretcher and splicershowing the parts in their initial position;

Fig. 4- is a like view to Fig. 3 but showing the sect-ions folded uponeach other to form the bight in the wire X; i

Fig. 5 is a like view to Fig. t but showing the manner in which the wireis twisted;

Fig. 6 is a detailed elevation of the frame showing the means forholding the main winding shaft from reverse rotation;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of the machine.

In Figs. 1 to 6,1 show one form of my invention, and it will be seenthat the tightening and twisting device comprises two sectionsdesignated generally Al and B. The section A consists of twoparallelbars 10 joined to each. other in any suitable manner so as toform an approximately U-shaped yoke and extended as at 11,at the closedend of the yoke toany suitable extent. The two parallel. bars or legs ofthisapproximat-sly U-shaped yoke are connected at 12 by a cross bar,this cross bar being preterably integral with the bars 10 but beingdepressed below the level of saidbars. On the extension 11 or shank ofthe section A there is provided a wire clamp comprising a camshaped oreccentric clamping member 18 and a transversely curved flange 14 withwhich the clamping member 13 engages. any suitable wire clamping membermay be used in place of the parts 18 and i l but such a clamping meansas that illustrated has been found to be thoroughly efiective inpractice and extremely simple. l

The section 13 comprises two parallel bars 15 which are angularly bent,as at 16, and joined by a cross bar, as at 17, these two bars 15, theangular'bend 16 and the cross bar 17 being preferably formed in onepiece. The extremities of the bar 15 opposite the bond 16 are formedwith a transversely extending head 17 formed at its ends to providetrunnions 18 inserted and oscillatable in apertures 19 formed in thearms 10 of the section A. This head 1? is formed with a pair of upwardlyextending lugs 20 which extend outward from the bars 15 and toward thebend 16. These lugs constitute hooks adapted to engage with a loop ofwire formed on one of the lengths of wire to be joined. I do not wish tobe limited to the particular manner of pivotally connecting the sectionB to the section A, asv other means of pivotally connecting thesesections can be used.

Rotatably mounted within the section ii and specifically between thebars 10 of the section A is a windingshaft or drum 21 which is formed atone end with a trunnion 22 to extend through a bearing aperture formedin one of the bars 10, and its oppo site end extends through and isrotatable within the other bar 10. This shaft or drum 21 is preferablyformed integral with a gear wheel 23. Also rotatably mounted in the bars10 is a transverse shaft 24: carrying preferably an integral gear wheel25 which engages the gear wheel 23, the gear wheel 25 being ofrelatively small diametergin comparison with the gear wheel 23. Theopposite end of the shaft 24 is squared or otherwise formed to carry thecrank 26, and

loops. v

until the wires are taut;

mounted upon one end of the shaft is a ratchet wheel 27 with which apawl 28 coacts, preventing reverse movement of the winding, 'orum and ofthe shaft 24 under strain. Preferably that portion of the section Bwhich extends upward, as at 16, is'

formed with an upwardly and laterally projecting supporting lug 29 uponwhich the wire which passes through the upwardly extending ll shapedportion 16 is disposed. I

The operation of this form of my invention is as follows: The machine isfirst folded, as in Fig. 4. A loop is -formed on the end of a length ofwire X and over the hoolrs 20 in part B, the wire to be one of thebroken strands of the fence. 7 Themachine is then unfolded, as in Fig.3, and wire X is passed between cam clamp 13 and the flange let. Ofcourse, the wire is anchored one end. The opposite length of wire Z isnow passed through to the upwardly extencing loop 16 l and through anaperture 30 formed 1n the rotatable winding'drum 21. Then part B ispulled down and the wire Z is hooked over support 29. Any suit-ablemeans may be usedfor engaging this length of wire Z with the windingdrum and T have merely illustrated the-slot 80 or aperture for the salreof illustration. vThe winding drum is then rotated,'by rotating thecrank handle 26, Then the clamp composed of the parts 13 and l lisreleased from the wire X and the section A. is lifter.

and turned over until the loop Y slips from the hooks 20 onto the wireThe whole device 1s nowsupported by tne section A and the wire X and itsloop Y, if now a tun be bent to form a loop and wrapped around the WH'GZ, around the axis of the wires X and 25, it is As the machine is turnedgradually shifted from a position nearl l 5 parallel to the axis of thewires to a position" at right angles thereto a-nc thus a loop is formedsubstantlally of the form shown in Fig. 5. After the wire has beenfullytighteriod and the loop sufliciently twisted, that portion of thewire Z which is disposed between the drum 21 and the loop is cut off bywire nippers, thus releasing the mechanism" from the fence wire andleaving the two lengths Xand Z ofthe fence wire perfectly tight butjoined together by interengaging The purpose of the crossbar 12 is tokeep the ends of the bars 10 of section A from pulling together underheavy strain and this bar also holds the loop Y at such an angle to thew1reZ going through 1t thatthe barbs of I the wlre, lfa barbed w1refence is being mended, do not catch on thetop of the loop, After thewire has been tightened. the part A folds over upon part B and the loopYris drawn oil the lugs 20 at just the right time so that there is noslack lost and the wire Z, the end of which is attached to the drum 21,is practically bent double over the wire of the loop Y so it holdswithout slacking while the splice is being completed by rotating themechanism around the longitudinal axis of the wires Y and Z. The abilityof this machine to fold the wire Z over and around the loop Y and thesubsequent release of the loop 7 from the lugs 20 I regard as theimportant and basic feature of this machine, as thereby no slack is lostwhen the splice is being made." Another vital feature of the inventionis the means whereby the loop in the wire Z is formed by winding thewire from the winding drum or spool and between the loop around themainwire Z. The supporting linger 29' is of importance, in that it goesnearly across the space in the angular part 16 and is inclined forwardso that it may be placed under the wire to keep the end 16 of thesection B from flying upward under strain. It is inclined forward andupward so that the barbs of wire will readily slip over it I do not wishto belimited to the exact form and construction of this part of thedevice, however, as other means might be used for guiding the wire atthis point and preventing the end 16 of the section B from flying upunder strain.

' It will be seen that the turning of the section over upon the sectionB causes the wire Z to be bent upon itself and form a bi "ht aroundthe-loo) Z without slackenin V l n the wire, and that if new the machineas a whole be rotated around the axis coinciding with the wires X and Y,thewinding drum or shaft 21 will be carried around this axis and willcause that portion of the wire between the end of the bight and the drumto be wrapped around the wire Z, thus forming a close loop engaging withthe loop Y. When the section A is turned over upon the section B, thestrain on the wire Z causes the loop Y, to slip from the hooks formed bythe lugs 20. My invention broadly consists, therefore, in the provisionof a tightening and wire twisting device which consists in twosectionspivoted to each. other for movement into or out of alining relation, oneof the sections being provided with a wire tightening device and theother with a loop holding device, the sections being pivoted to eachother so thatthey may be turned into'a positionto bend the wire Etc forma bight around the loop Y, both of said sections be ingso mounted thatthey may be rotated bodily around the axis formed by the wires Y and Zto thereby place the end of the bight of the wire Z around the body ofthe wire to form a second loop in the wire.

Tn Fig. 1, I show a modification of the construction which has just beendescribed 7 cross bar maca which operates on just exactly the sameprinciple as this construction but which diitors from thisconstruction... in that the hooks, designated 20 in Fig. I are posedsuch manner that initially the are folded and then the take oil the loopY from these hooks form the bight. inasmuch the con tion is otherwisethe same as that illust in F i 's. 1 to 6, no further description ofthis cation is believed to be necessary.

It 18 to be particularly noted that in the construction shown in Figs. 12 and 3 and in the construction shown in 7, the bight of the hook 20:0120 is radially distanced from the axis of the two sections 18 and thatparticularly the bioght oi the hooks 20 or 20 is normally disposednearer to the tensioning device than the axis of the sections. ihus inFigs. 1. and 3 where the parts are disposed in their normal position,the of the loop Y is disposed nearer to the tensioning device 21 thanthe pivot 18 so that when the ports are turned to the position shown inFig. at the tension on the wire Z will cause the loop Y to draw awayfrom the bight of the hooks 20 beyond the bills thereof so that then thebill 20 will escape from the loop when the wire tightener is turned toform the coil on the wire Z. The same is true in Fig. 7, which showsthis modification of the wire tight ener in its normal position. Here itwill be seen that the bight of the hooks 2O is disposed nearer to thetensioning device 21 than is the pivotal axis of the sections A and Band that when the section A is turned into alinement with the section Bthe loop Y will be drawn off of the hooks 28. It will be noted that thefinger 29 prevents the section B in Fig. 3 from being drawn upward bythe pull on the loop Y, which would act to lower the loop Y. As isillustrated. the loop Y is disposed'at an angle to the wire Zso as topermit the ready passage of the wire Z through the loop Y.

I claim a l. A wire tightener and splicer comprising two sections. oneof said sections having thereon a pair of laterally spaced. loopengaging hooks, the other section having a wire tightening device, theloop engaging hooks having their bills normally extending from thetensioning device, the last named section being pivoted to the firstnamed section on an axis radially distant from the big-ht of the hooksand disposed normally a greater distance from the tensioning device thanthe bight oi said hooks whereby to cause the loop to be pulled from saidhooks oids parts are untolded to and -when the wire on the second namedsection has been bent around said loop.

2. A wire tightener and splicer comprising two sections. one of saidsections being approximately U-shaped in form to provide a cross bar andtwo arms, the cross bars being disp ed in off-set relation to the twoarms. said ion having a finger extending '1 the cross bar the oppositeends of the being formed with wire loop support- 1 hooks. the othersection having a wire tensionin device and the loop engaging i theirbills normally extending away the tendoning device, the last namedsection being pivoted directly to said arms at a point i ially distantfrom the hight ot the hooks .nd normally a greater distance from thetensioning device than the bight ot the hooks whereby to cause the loopto be drawn from hooks when the wire carried on said section has beenbent 'onnd said loop.

3. A wire tightener and splice]: compris ing two sectionsv one of saidsections having thereon adjacent one end a pair oi rearwardly tured loopengag lig books, the other section be ving thereon a winding drum, andmeans for rotatingthe winding drunn the last named section being pivotedto the [i st named section adjacent said hooks whereby the sections maybe turned into or out of an approximately alined re lation and for thepurpose set forth.

4. A wire tightener and splicer comprising two sections, one of saidsections having at one end a pair of spaced rearwardly projecting wiresupporting hooks, the opposite end having an upwardly projecting loopwith a supporting finger, the other'section having a wire tighteningdrum mounted thereon midway of its length and having means whereby thedrum may be rotated and carrying at its end wire clamping means, saidsections being pivoted to each other adjacent said hook whereby a wirepassed through the loop and engaged by said tightening drum may be bentupon itself to form a bight, the two sections being bodily rotatableupon the axisot the connected wires to thereby wrap the end of the bightaround the body of the wire.

5. A. wire tightener and splicer comprising two sections, one of saidsections comprising a pair of spaced, longitudinally extending barsconnected at one end, said connected portion of the bars being bent atright angles and formed with an outwardly and an upwardly projectingfinger, the opposite ends of said bars being formed to providerearwardly extending, loop engaging hooks. the other section beingformed of two connected. parallel bars pivoted to the first namedsection adjacent said hooks and having a transverse cross bar, a windingdrum journaled between the bars of the second named section outward ofsaid cross bar and having means whereby the winding drum may be rotated,and a wire clamp mounted upon the end of the second named section.

6. A wire tightener and splicer formed of I connected end of thissection being angularly bent and formed with a projecting wire suportingfinger, the oppos te ends of. said are being formed to providerearwardly ex-' tending hooks, the other section being formed of twoparallel, connected bars pivoted at one end to the other sectionadjacent said hooks, winding member mounted upon the second section andhaving a gear wheel, a crank shaft mounted upon the second section andhaving a gear wheel. engaging the first nanied gear wheel whereby thewinding member maybe rotated, and a cross bar extending across the spacebetween the two first named bars and the last named section between thewinding drum and the pivotal axis of the sections, the outer end of thesecond named section carrying a wire clamping device.

7. A wire tightener and splicer formed of two sections, one ofsaid'sections comprising spaced, longitudinally extending bars, the

bars being connected to each other at one end and the connected endbeing angularly bent and formed with a wire supporting finger, theopposite ends of the bars being connected by a transversely extendinghead formed with trunnions and-formed to provide rearwardly projecting,loop engaging hooks, a second section formed of two parallel barsconnected at their outer ends, the inner ends of the bars being formedwith bearing apertures for engagement with said trunnions, a windingdrum mounted in said parallel bars for rotation therein and carrying agear wheel, a crank shaft passing through said bars and carrying asecond gear wheel engaging the first named gear wheel, and a cross barconnecting the parallel bars of this section and" disposed between thewinding drum and the pivotal axis of the sections, said cross bar beingdepressed be low the level of the longitudinal bars.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. I V

HENRY H. SCHAEFER.

